SOMERSET — The longer the game remained scoreless, the more Shawnee leaned into its game plan. Why should a state championship game be any different?
With 5:12 left on a scoreless first-half scoreboard, senior Jacob Santamaria found a loose ball at his feet and poked it off the post for the first goal. With 22 seconds left in the half, Danny Williams blasted a shot from the top of the penalty area to double the advantage.
The Renegades controlled the game the rest of the way to top Randolph 2-0 to claim the NJSIAA Group 3 championship. It is the eighth state title for Shawnee and first since 2006.
"I though the goalie was going to catch it at first," Santamaria said. "It fell at my feet. I toe poked it. I thought I was going wide at first, but it hit the post so I ran to the corner."
The other 10 players on the field and the entire bench finally caught Santamaria at the corner flag to celebrate.
That goal gave Shawnee the lead. The next one gave the Renegades a cushion.
"His goal just let us feel confident going into halftime," Santamaria said. "We were already confident enough with the one goal. I feel like having two really helped us get to that final result."
Shawnee played possession soccer from the first minute to the last. Add in up to four substitutes rolling through the lineup at almost every throw in and Randolph saw wave after wave of Shawnee players.
"You know, everyone on our bench is great," senior captain Cale Stielau said. "Every single time someone comes on, we know they're going to help. We have trust in them every single time, They're always great for us."
Trust in each other. Trust in the style of play. Trust.
It's a state championship formula.
"You know, I have played with these guys since I was little," Stielau said. "I love them all. We all just came together. And we did it."
Shawnee finished its season with a 21-2-1 record. The losses came to sister-school Cherokee and Group 4 finalist Southern. The tie was a come-from-behind affair on grass at Washington Township.
The Renegades won their last 10 games, the Olympic Conference American Division, the South Jersey Coaches' Cup and the South Jersey Group 3 title. And now a state title.
"It starts with hard work," Santamaria said. "Take it one day at a time. Coach (Ryan) Franks always tells us that. We've held on to that. This is all we've ever wanted since, since August 21."
Game Balls
Shawnee senior Clark Mangan was officially credited with just one save, but the Renegades' backstop was a steadying force arraying a smothering defense in front of him.
Randolph junior Gavin Vichengrad made five saves to keep the Rams within striking distance in the game.
Shawnee senior Danny Williams struck from the top of the D with 22 ticks left in the first half to give the Renegades a two-goal lead.
Family Affair
The administration held off the announcement until an appropriate time. Being named the school's Teacher of the Year is a memorable honor. Ryan Franks will find it easy to remember when he got the news.
The 2002 Shawnee alum returned to coach the boys soccer team. Now he is a state championship player and championship coach for the Renegades.
"Today ranks pretty high, I'd say, as far as good days go," Franks said. "I'm so proud to be a part of this soccer community and school community. We preach to our boys all the time, the phrase we've tried to repeat over and over and get in their heads is we're good players on the field and we're better people off of it."
Franks played for coach Brian Gibney, who ranks third on New Jersey's all-time boys soccer win list.
"I got a text message from coach this morning," Franks said. "That was pretty special. We were riding up on the bus and coach Gibney was reaching out. It's pretty cool to carry on that tradition."
Franks was a freshman in 1998. He won his state title in 2001. His brother Brad was on the 2006 title team.
"There's been a Franks in the program since 1998 between me and my three brothers, Jamie, Brad and Kyle every year except for one year," Franks said. "There was one year gap before I took over coaching. It runs deep in our roots. We love representing the Medford soccer community. We feel that it's one of, if not the best, soccer communities in the state. We are proud to represent it."
Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes. Follow him on twitter @Rimbacksports. Emailhim with story ideas at tomrimback@gmail.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier-Post.
